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Stephen Wolfram says he almost had a deal with Google, but it 'blew up'
As you may recall, Wolfram Research signed a deal with Microsoft a few years back that saw some Wolfram Alpha functionality integrated into Bing. As it turns out, it very nearly found its way into a certain other search engine as well. In an interview at The Next Web conference in Amsterdam today, Stephen Wolfram revealed that his company had tried to work with Google and "almost had a deal," but it "blew up." Unfortunately, he didn't provide any further details about when those talks took place or exactly what the potential deal entailed, and it doesn't sound like we can expect that deal to be revived anytime soon -- especially considering Google's own efforts that are increasingly overlapping with Wolfram Alpha. As Wolfram himself notes, though, the two companies do have something of a longstanding connection: Google co-founder Sergey Brin was actually an intern at Wolfram way back in 1993.
Google paying $1 to run Provo fiber, must build it out within five years
While it's well-established that Google Fiber's expansion into Provo, Utah hinges on Google buying the city's existing iProvo network, we didn't immediately learn what it took to land the tentative deal. Newly available details of the agreement reveal that the up-front cost is largely in the visitor's favor -- it's the long-term development that rewards the locals. Google only pays $1 to buy the local fiber network, but it has five years to finish upgrades and deployments that could ultimately cost $30 million, according to the Deputy Mayor's estimates. About the only remaining costs for Provo are its already existing (if significant) development loans, and the city can always buy the network back for $1 if things go sour. The pact also leaves the door open to public WiFi, although there are no guarantees that Google will mirror its New York City efforts anytime soon. When the search giant has a very healthy bank balance, we doubt there will be much quibbling over the exact terms; just know that the arrangement isn't strictly one-sided.
xScope, Fantastical, more available for just $10 in new MacHeist bundle
The latest bundle from MacHeist has just gone live, and it's a good one. There are six apps in the bundle, and they're a steal at a price of just US$9.99: You'll get the great xScope measuring tools for designers, Fantastical's excellent calendar app, Boinx's stupendous iStopMotion, tutorial-maker Clarify, invoice-creator Totals and CleanMyMac 2, which will help clean all sorts of old cache files and cruft out of your system. In addition to those (any one of which is worth the price as-is), the excellent indie game Little Inferno is set to be added to the bundle at 10K sales, and PathFinder should also be added in at some point. Plus, there are two more spaces on the site for more apps, and 10 percent of your purchase will go to charity, so there's quite a few reasons to just go grab it now and treat yourself to some excellent Mac software. And if that's not enough, there's also a Name Your Own Price Mac bundle sale going on over on Stack Social, where you can get 10 more great Mac apps (including CrossOver 12, DiskTools Pro and Paperless) all for a price you name yourself. If you beat the average (currently $7.77), you get all 10 apps, so if you combine this with the MacHeist deal, you could pick up 18 of the best apps on the Mac for under $20. It's a great day to be a Mac owner for sure.
IndieFort Spring Bundle on GamersGate; Arcen's library 75% off on Steam
The GamersGate IndieFort Spring Bundle is now available, offering up a quintet of indie games at one rock-bottom price. The core bundle contains Arcen Games' RT, AI War: Fleet Command, Coffee Stain's tower defense game, Sanctum, the Linux-originated space shooter Zigfrak, Legendo's Fortune Winds: Ancient Trader, and an alpha version of Stygian's turn-based RPG, Underrail.All five cost $7.99 in total, or you can add a little extra if you want to tip the developers. There are also some map packs and DLC bonuses to unlock, depending on how many copies the bundle sells overall.Steam is also offering the entire Arcen library for 75 percent off. That includes Shattered Haven for $2.49, or A Valley Without Wind 1 and 2 for $3.74, on sale with the rest of Arcen's games all week long.
Barnes and Noble giving away Nook Simple Touch with every Nook HD+ purchase in limited promo
Americans love a good bargain -- especially, when it's a twofer. Barnes and Noble, arguably the only real competitor to Amazon's Kindle juggernaut, has just announced a promotion to get as many of its Nook readers into consumers' hands as possible. Starting March 24th and running until the end of the month, consumers that purchase the Nook HD+ online, in-store or at select big box retailers will also be given a free Nook Simple Touch. The limited promotion comes hot on the heels of rumors that B&N would start to de-emphasize hardware production for the Nook line in favor of its content services; a rumor the company publicly shot down. Still, there's no denying e-reader market share's been an uphill battle for B&N, even if the segment is seeing marginal year-over-year increases. Numbers aside, if you've been holding out on joining the digital reading fray because of cost, now's the time to make the switch.
RIFT celebrates its second anniversary with a freebie weekend and sale
There's nothing quite like a birthday to put a studio in the mood to give things away. Really, if more people thought like that, the world might be a happier place for everyone. If you've been looking for a chance to get into RIFT, however, your world can be a happier place right now. Starting today and running 'til the 25th, folks can return to Telara for free to celebrate the second anniversary and check out the Carnival of the Ascended. Of course, you can't return to a place you've never been, so what's a newbie to do? Trion hasn't forgotten you: Until the 25th, RIFT's standard and infinity editions are on 25% sale.
Knights of Pen and Paper and Angry Birds go free
Two really great apps are free this week. First up, Knights of Pen and Paper is an (in my opinion) underrated and very charming turn-based RPG, with the unique premise that you're actually playing an old pen-and-paper role-playing game, complete with a dungeonmaster describing every environment you enter and NPC you come across. Or you can play DM yourself, and design an adventure for your gamers. The game is on iPhone and iPad, so more users than ever have a chance to download and enjoy it. And on the complete other end of the spectrum from underrated, the original Angry Birds app (and its HD counterpart) have gone free on iOS. It's hard to believe that you haven't played Angry Birds yet, as there have been lite versions, lots of sales and a number of various spinoffs and ways to play the game on all of its various platforms. But just in case you haven't gone back and played the original iOS hit, now's your chance. Do try Knights of Pen and Paper, though. It's really good.
Dead Space 3 price sliced to $32 on PC from GameFly
Despite only arriving on store shelves a month ago, Dead Space 3's price has been dismembered down to just $31.99, thanks to GameFly. Currently marked down to $39.99 on the retailer's site, using the coupon code "GFDMAR20" – which earns you 20% off PC titles – will slice off an additional $8 off at checkout.Because this is a digital PC version, remember that you'll need an EA Origin account and your PC will need to be connected to the Internet as you play. Still, there's no cheaper way to get into the game our reviewer called "an exciting, shocking and mammoth adventure through the ghostly, unvarnished segments of space."
Xbox 360 250GB Spring Value Bundle includes Darksiders 2, Batman: Arkham City
Microsoft has announced a new 250GB Spring Value Bundle for the Xbox 360, available in "select major retail stores" and shipping out today for $300. In addition to the black Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard drive, the bundle includes a wireless controller, copies of Darksiders 2 and Batman: Arkham City (the latter in downloadable form), and a free month of Xbox Live.That's a nice deal, though you may prefer to wait until after you've heard about the next Xbox, which is expected to be announced later this year.
Facebook and 18 carriers to offer discounted mobile messaging data in 14 countries
Shooting the breeze using Facebook's mobile messaging service is about to get a lot cheaper. The social network is teaming up with 18 carriers in 14 countries to provide free or heavily discounted data to its customers. That way, you'll be able to keep talking about who said what (and to whom!) without any resulting bill shock. Networks involved include TMN in Portugal, Three in Ireland, Airtel and Reliance in India. For the full list and a terse set of remarks from The Haus of Zuckerberg, peek past the break.
Guild Wars 2 is on sale until February 25th
Hey, you. Yes, you, the person reading this post right now. You want some Guild Wars 2? You want to get in cheap? I know a guy who knows a guy who can get it for you really cheap, man. Specifically, the guy in question is the guy who runs the official store on the game's website, which is offering the game for about 30% until February 25th. So it may actually be multiple guys or girls, since one would imagine ArenaNet has several people working on the store page. Prospective players or current players who dearly want another copy of the game can buy the standard edition for $39.99 or the Digital Deluxe edition for $54.99. No word on exactly when the sale will end on the 25th, but we'd recommend just going ahead and picking up the game now if it's on your agenda. It's not going to be any cheaper tomorrow.
Plants vs. Zombies goes free on iOS this week
For the first time in the game's history on iOS, Plants vs. Zombies has dropped to the low price of completely free. On either the iPhone or in HD on the iPad, you can grab the full-featured app for free through the rest of this week.Statistically, given how many copies of the game have sold already, you probably already own it on at least one of your gaming devices, but just in case that list doesn't include iOS just yet, there you go. And now that PvZ has finally and truly achieved total platform domination, PopCap can start it on the sequel; It's due out sometime this spring.
Mac Game of the Week: Assassin's Creed 2, now on sale for $4.99
As you may have noticed in our daily deals post today, Amazon is having a huge sale on Mac games, with some of the highest-profile titles of the last few years offered up with huge discounts. There are a few really great bargains in there (including Rage for US$4.99 and Civ V for $7.50), but the one I'll spotlight is the great sequel to Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, on sale right now for just $4.99. Assassin's Creed as a series has gained all sorts of acclaim over the years -- it's developed into a juggernaut for Ubisoft, with the latest version, Assassin's Creed 3, taking place in colonial America, with a new protagonist running around taking out Redcoats. But Assassin's Creed 2 is my favorite of the series -- it moved up into the Renaissance from the original game set in Jerusalem, and added a whole slew of new mechanics, from upgrading shops and weapons to building up an empire of vendors and artisans. The assassination gameplay of the first game is there as well, but Assassin's Creed 2 really took the platforming even further, with various underground sections that feature some really ingenious and brilliant level designs. And right now, you can grab the whole game on the Mac for just under five bucks. Definitely don't pass up a bargain like that: Even if you haven't played the first game, definitely pick up and play Assassin's Creed 2. You can grab it now from Amazon.
To the Moon 66% off on Steam, Sanitarium down to $4 on GOG
The critically acclaimed (and touching) adventure, To the Moon, is celebrating the holiday today with a 66 percent off Steam sale. The price of the game has dropped to $3.39 – when you start comparing your various favorite pastimes, picking up To the Moon is just about the best emotions-per-dollar deal you'll find.If scares-per-dollar is a more valuable metric to you, then GOG.com is offering up 1998's classic Sanitarium for just a few cents more, at $3.99. It's also about memory and psychology, but it's a little less touchy-feely, and a little more grabby-stabby, if you know what we mean.
World of Warcraft game and expansions on 50% sale
It's almost time for the Thunder King! As the embodiment of World of Warcraft's patch 5.2, the Thunder King is hopefully maybe probably going to be released late this month. In preparation, Blizzard has put a 50% discount on all World of Warcraft games -- that's the Battle Chest, Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria. Naturally, this makes now an excellent time to pick it up and take a look-see if you've been wondering what 10 million subscribers could have gotten all worked up about.
Box offering 25 GB for free in promotion
Filesharing service Box is offering up 25 GB of free cloud storage in a new promotion (supposedly for "Gameday," but it seems to still be in effect anyway). To qualify, you must be a new customer on a free plan, or just sign up for a new account with a new email address. The deal is also for non-commercial use only, and because it's free, there's a file-size cap of 250 MB that you'll have to duck in under. But even with those catches, who couldn't use some extra storage, right? Box's deal is as up for as long as they leave it up, so definitely jump on it soon if you're interested. [via Engadget]
Netgear buys Sierra Wireless' AirCard unit, delves deeper into LTE
Sierra Wireless will be a very familiar name to many travelers who've depended on a hotspot or modem to keep their laptop online. Let's hope they aren't overly comfortable with the brand: Netgear just snapped up the assets of Sierra Wireless' AirCard business, which covers many of the portable 3G and 4G devices we hold dear. The $138 million, 160-employee deal gives Netgear the resources it wants to make a big push into LTE access devices. Sierra Wireless, meanwhile, is blunt in describing the handover as a cash grab: the agreement gives it "significant financial resources" for improving its embedded modules and machine-to-machine devices. The deal should thus make sense for both sides as long as it completes in March, although we can't help but feel that it's the end of an era for jet set data users.
Neverwinter reveals pre-order packs, beta weekend dates
Neverwinter's closed beta is closer than you might think, as Cryptic has just posted the dates of the three weekend events coming up. The beta weekends begin on February 8th, with successive ones starting March 8th and March 22nd, and will be available to residents of North America and Europe to those lucky enough to be accepted. To tempt people into shedding some cash up front, Cryptic is prepared to dangle guaranteed beta invites to those who purchase a $60 or $200 pre-order Founder's Pack. In addition to the closed beta access, the $60 version contains a head-start to the open beta, a title, an armored horse mount, a mask, and a direwolf companion. The $200 pack has an even longer open beta head start, an exclusive Menzoberranzan Renegade playable race, a closed beta code for a friend, a spider mount, a panther companion, and priority access to the game. Alternatively, Cryptic's offering a $20 basic pack that will not contain a closed beta key, but will give players a few in-game items and 12 additional inventory slots. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Amazon weekly has two bundles: Microsoft arcade, Ubisoft's Settlers
Amazon's digital games deal of the week covers two exemplary bundles, the Microsoft 5-Game Arcade Pack and the Settlers Bundle from Ubisoft.The Microsoft 5-Game Arcade Pack includes Steam versions of Deadlight, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Iron Brigade, Mark of the Ninja and Toy Soldiers, all for $10. The standard price for this bundle is $70, for a savings of $60. These games are also on sale individually on Amazon, Toy Soldiers for $2.50 and the rest for $3.75.The Settlers Bundle offers Windows versions of Dawn of Discovery Gold, Heritage of Kings: The Settlers, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom Deluxe Gold Edition and its "The Two Kings" DLC pack, and The Settlers: Rise of an Empire Gold Edition. This bundle is currently $16, compared with the normal price of $85.Also for PC, Fable: The Lost Chapters is $2.50, rather than $10. For Steam, the Age of Empires 3 Complete Collection is $10 via Amazon.
Game on, man! Aliens: Colonial Marines is ready for pre-order
The release of Gearbox's Aliens: Colonial Marines is finally zeroing in towards us, with publisher Sega launching a new television teaser to promote the oft-delayed title. For PC soldiers, Colonial Marines features a number of bonuses on Steam if players are willing to sign up for the Weyland-Yutani sponsored expedition before its launch. Steam pre-order bonuses include a Sonic-Harpoon Artillery Remote Projectile (or S.H.A.R.P.) stick rifle, a weapon referenced in James Cameron's Aliens that fires explosive darts. Aliens: Colonial Marines will also be available for Xbox 360, Wii U, and the PlayStation 3, when it launches on February 12.
